


Devotion

by Twilight Fang (Asthenos)



Series: Falling into place [3]
Category: Invasion (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 16:48:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8335042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asthenos/pseuds/Twilight%20Fang
Summary: Russell and Tom celebrate their first Valentine's Day together as a couple.





	

**Author's Note:**

> While this fic can be read alone, it might make more sense to read "Reciprocation" first to see how Tom and Russell got together in the first place.

“One chicken breast salad with a spoonful of mustard vinaigrette dressing on the side for the lady, and one pork cutlet set with rice, steamed vegetables, and a bowl of pumpkin soup for her dashingly handsome father,” the waiter confirmed as he set the food down on the table.

 

Kira got her elbows off of the table and leaned back so that the hot new beefy waiter would have somewhere to put her salad. Then she watched in mild amusement as the tattooed muscleman purposefully arranged her father’s dishes in front of him with a lot more care. Even though she and her father had been frequenting this particular diner since she was maybe two years old, this kind of attentive service was definitely a first. What made it even funnier was that Kira was not the one the waiter was flirting with – her father Sheriff Tom Underlay was. And boy did he ever take the appreciative glances and exceptionally polished compliments in stride. Like not at all!

 

“I took the liberty of fixing you up a complimentary piece of chocolate cake, seeing as how it’s so close to Valentine’s Day and all,” Mason Rodriguez said boldly as he placed the single-serving, heart-shaped cake in front of Tom, making sure that he flexed his muscular arms a bit before retreating to the side of the table again. The problem was that Mason mistakenly believed that Tom had a _type_ , but Kira knew that if it wasn’t Russell Varon, her father wasn’t interested, at all. Muscles or no muscles.

 

Kira covered her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to stifle her giggles when her father turned beat red and looked frantically in her direction for help. Although he might be exceptionally skilled at maintaining the law and order in Homestead, he didn’t do too well when it came to communicating his emotions out loud.

 

“Thanks Mason,” she said on her father’s behalf. “But I think that my dad is on a diet. You know, still recovering from Christmas and the New Year.” _Yeah right!_ If anything, her father needed to put on weight after he’d lost a few pounds due to the stress that he’d been under for nearly the past half year or so. But there was no way she was going to say anything about it. Not unless she wanted him coming down on her for having a lower than average BMI, which was something she was actively working on. But in order to get her weight up there, she’d needed to scrap her trendy – yet temporary – vegetarian lifestyle. Hence the chicken on top of her salad. Which was surprisingly tastier than she remembered it being.

 

“With a figure like that, I don’t see why he would need to go on a diet,” Mason complimented sweetly, still not getting the message when Tom pulled out his cell phone and began to text away in order to ignore the uncomfortable comments that seemed to have no end in sight. “Who are you texting?” Mason leaned over Tom’s shoulder, peering at his cell phone screen indiscreetly for a second, before letting out an exasperated, theatrical sigh. “The _boyfriend_ ,” he moaned, looking deflated when Kira reached across the table to claim the chocolate cake that Tom obviously didn’t want.

 

“Don’t take it personally, Mason,” Kira said with an impish grin. “He only has eyes for Russell.”

 

“ _Kira!”_ Tom said sharply, shifting to one side of his chair when Mason brushed by him a bit too closely. “I thought that we agreed not to discuss my love life in front of complete strangers.”

 

“See you, Mason,” Kira waved as the deflated waiter disappeared back into the kitchen, and then let herself giggle freely. “Chill out, Dad. He was just flirting with you. It’s completely harmless, you know.”

 

“It isn’t harmless if it comes with chocolate cake and those kinds of looks,” Tom protested, eyeing the rest of his meal with great suspicion. And it sure was deserving of it. Everything was suggestively shaped like a heart, even the handful of steamed vegetables off to one side of the plate. It was like Mason had gone out of his way to cut everything into heart-shaped pieces and then aligned them along the edge of the plate with artful precision.

 

“Okay, so maybe his crush is a bit on the overbearing side…”

 

“A bit?” Well, since he was going to have to pay for the meal one way or the other, Tom gingerly picked up his fork and knife to begin eating, and flicked the folded up piece of paper that had been lying underneath them over to Kira. “And he gave me his phone number – again.”

 

Before Russell had started showing up around town with Tom on his arm, no one would have thought that the sheriff swung both ways – Kira included. And in the beginning, no one had thought anything of the sheriff spending so much time with the recently re-employed park ranger. Even when they’d begun to go on more public dates – a Saturday night movie here, and a classy dinner there – the townsfolk still hadn’t really gotten it. But that rumor going around about how Russell had been necking with Tom on the hood of his jeep behind the gas station one night had kind of sealed the sheriff’s fate. Whether or not it was true, Kira wasn’t sure, but one thing was for certain, people had started acting differently towards him after that. Suddenly Tom wasn’t the cold lonely sheriff who hid himself away during his off time. He was now the sheriff who belonged to Russell Varon, and for some people, like Mason, that sounded like a relationship worth challenging. Unfortunately, poor sweet Mason had no idea what he was up against.

 

“So, I’ll throw it away – again,” Kira said cheerfully. “Problem solved.” She liked Sunday afternoons. For the past few months, every Sunday afternoon had been father-daughter time. Tom would take her to Cozy’s Diner for a bite to eat, lecture her about how she needed fat and protein in her diet along with the lettuce and rabbit food, and then take her shopping. _After_ Mason had showered him with compliments and over-the-top flattery. The visit to the local mall was mostly just to get out and talk to each other, but occasionally he would buy her something really nice. Like a new purse, or a pair of neon pink sneakers to get her to exercise more. They were getting a lot better at communicating, especially now that Russell was permanently in the picture. Tom used to be uptight, stiff, and generally unhappy, but now he was a lot more laid back and practically overflowing with positivity. Kira didn’t know how Russell had managed to remove the rain cloud from above her father’s head, but she was glad that he had. “I heard that Russell’s going to cook you something special for Valentine’s Day.” She tried to appear casual about it, digging her fork into the chocolate cake and savoring a generous bite of it. It was really delicious! Her father would have enjoyed it, if it hadn’t come with strings attached.

 

“So he said,” Tom said with a depressed sigh. “But one of my deputies just came down with the flu. I’m going to have to work a double shift that day.”

 

“ _You can’t!”_ Kira blurted out in a panic before she could contain her emotions.

 

Tom gave her a peculiar look and went back to cutting up his pork cutlet. “Nobody else wants to work late on Valentine’s Day, Kira. It’s not like I have a choice.”

 

“Lewis will do it!”

 

Tom blinked at her in disbelief. “Did you seriously just volunteer your boyfriend to work overtime on Valentine’s Day? I thought that Lewis was going to take you to some fancy theatre show that night.”

 

“Well, he’s not,” Kira said forcefully. “In fact, we don’t have any plans on that night. I’ll ask him. He won’t mind. I’m sure of it.”

 

“I can’t do that to Lewis…or to you,” Tom continued to object.

 

“You won’t have to! I’ll call him. Like, right now. It so isn’t a problem,” she said in her usually bubbly voice, trying to keep the rising nervousness from showing through. Before Tom could say anything else, she hurried outside and dialed Lewis. “Lewis, I am so _so_ sorry but I need to cancel our date on Valentine’s Day. You have to take my dad’s shift that night… I know… I was… But Russell’s making a special dinner and my dad was so looking forward to it. Please? _Pretty please_ with hugs and kisses on top?” Kira squealed when Lewis relented without much coaxing. Because it was for her father, after all. The man whom Lewis respected and admired. What was sacrificing one Valentine’s Day in comparison to Tom’s happiness? “You’re the best, Lewis!”

 

After she’d hung up the phone, Kira slipped back inside to find Mason hovering over Tom with a cup of coffee, and an unsolicited plateful of cookies. If Kira didn’t know any better, she would think that the walking tattooed mural of a man wanted to fatten her father up.

 

“Kira, would you like some cookies?” Tom asked stiffly as he nudged the plate over to her as soon as she sat down.

 

“That chocolate cake was pretty rich,” Kira said with a shake of her head. “You’re on your own with those butter cookies.” She shoved the plate back again, knowing that she couldn’t eat protein for dinner _and_ half a cup of butter on a plate without exceeding her 1600 calorie-limit for the day. Even if it was in the form of heart-shaped shortbread.

 

“So, what are you giving your _boyfriend_ for Valentine’s Day?” Mason asked jealously as he watched Tom reluctantly stick a cookie into his mouth, chew it, and then swallow it down with some of the inoffensive coffee.

 

“My soul,” Tom replied as he looked up at Mason, attempted to smile, and ate another cookie.

 

Kira nearly died laughing as soon as Mason was out of earshot. She’d had no idea that her father possessed a sense of humor, or the good nature to brush off Mason’s flirting instead of having him arrested.

 

* * *

 

On Valentine’s Day, Russell emailed Tom several times to make sure that he knew exactly what time he’d be home. The timing on the dinner was crucial. He’d spent a few hours preparing for it and didn’t want anything going cold before Tom could get home. Which didn’t turn out to be a problem when his lover arrived home an hour earlier than expected. He could hear Tom’s cruiser pulling into the driveway, and then the sound of the car door being shut.

 

“Shit,” Russell cursed as he eyed the oven, before rushing out of the kitchen to unlock the newly installed front door. In fact, there were quite a lot of new things in the house, including new wood paneling along the walls, warm carpeting in the living room and in every bedroom upstairs, windows of a higher caliber in all the rooms downstairs, and ongoing renovations happening in the upstairs and downstairs washrooms. But none of the repairs and upgrades that the house had been in dire need of would have been possible if it hadn’t been for Tom. Thanks to the legal pressure that Tom had applied to the Everglades National Park in the form of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, Russell had not only been reinstated, but he’d also been compensated for six months of lost wages, along with a decent monetary sum for mental pain and suffering. That money had gone a long way in relieving Tom of the financial strain that he’d been under, fixing up the house, and getting Russell back on his feet.

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Russ,” Tom said warmly as he entered the house that he’d begun to call home ever since the night that Russell had irrevocably altered their relationship.

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, honey,” Russell breathed in anticipation, pulling Tom into his muscular arms and kissing him deeply before the hybrid could even get his shoes off, taking a moment to shoulder the door shut behind him. “You’re too early,” he muttered between kisses, shoving Tom against the back of the door so that he could really go to town on him.

 

“I thought you wanted me home early,” Tom gasped, unable to say anything else when Russell practically plastered himself onto him and shut him up with a very long, drawn out kiss. The only thing he could do was wrap his arms around his overly affectionate lover and return the kiss with just as much enthusiasm.

 

“I did, but dinner isn’t ready yet.” Russell rubbed his face against Tom’s neck, inhaling the sweet scent of his cologne, and then began to kiss him there. He trapped Tom against the door and smirked when the hybrid began to struggle, knowing how the scrape of his beard on that sensitive skin drove Tom crazy. “Now I’m just going to have to disarm you and drag you into the living room to waste forty minutes or so until dinner is ready.”

 

Tom laughed, actually, genuinely laughed when Russell aggressively attacked his utility belt, all the while keeping him pinned up against the door. Russell loved that sound. Just as much as he loved those big expressive blue eyes, along with the long fair eyelashes that framed them. And he simply adored Tom’s faint freckles, and the high cheekbones and the cute narrow nose that they covered. Not to mention the soft wavy blondish-brown hair that he couldn’t wait to run his fingers through. Hell, he just _loved_ Tom. Like this, in his arms, warm and laughing and happy.

 

“Russ, you have some really horrible kink for disarming me,” Tom said with a smile, allowing Russell to remove the belt and carefully lay it on the floor. Because no one wanted the gun to go off and ruin the mood.

 

“No, I have some really horrible kink for overpowering the town sheriff and taking advantage of him,” Russell confessed as he sealed his lips over Tom’s once more to kiss him into submission. He didn’t need to try too hard because Tom had already surrendered himself to the kiss, and to Russell. Usually Tom would make things more exciting by giving Russell a hard time, but today he seemed to only want to kiss and rub up against him. “Take your shoes off and come into the living room with me.” Russell gave Tom the space he needed to remove his shoes, and then took his hand, leading him into their remodeled living room.

 

“Russ, I forgot something inside my cruiser,” Tom said suddenly, beginning to pull away again.

 

“You can get it later.” Russell kept his grip firm on Tom’s hand and ushered him into the living room, before directing him to sit down on the sofa. “Wait here.”

 

“Can’t I get changed out of my uniform first? These trousers chafe something awful,” Tom complained.

 

“Just give me five minutes,” Russell said as he went back into the kitchen to collect the single red rose and the small velvet box from the kitchen table. He’d been anticipating this day for months now, wanting to make his relationship with Tom _official_. Russell was an old-fashioned romantic and truly believed that marriage was the final step in any loving relationship. He had grown sick of referring to Tom as his _partner_ because it sounded too much like a business associate. And _boyfriend_ wasn’t much better because those were prone to change every few months. What he wanted with Tom was a permanent relationship that would offer security and erase any doubt from their minds of how right they were together. But it had still taken a while for Russell to work up the nerve to propose to Tom. And he couldn’t have purchased the engagement ring without Kira’s help. Mainly because he’d never had an engagement ring himself and had thought that they were only for women. But no, there were engagement rings for men, too. At least the sizing hadn’t been a problem. Tom had stopped wearing his wedding ring last year, having put it into an unmarked cardboard box inside his underwear drawer. That had been helpful down at the jeweler’s when they’d asked him for a size. He’d just handed the ring over and let them figure it out for him.

 

“Russ, your five minutes is up,” Tom called out from the living room, sounding intrigued by the mystery of Russell’s extended absence. “What are you doing in there?”

 

 _Trying to find the balls to propose to you,_ Russell thought to himself. “Coming,” he called back, hoping that he didn’t sound as tense as he felt. Tom would say yes. He had to say yes. Why wouldn’t he? Russell was positively sure that Tom was happy with him. Every morning Tom woke up smiling and content, kissing Russell in such a way that seemed to imply that that was the only thing he looked forward to in order to start the day. And at nighttime, Tom would tease and tempt Russell, purposefully stealing his side of the bed and daring him to do something about it. And Russell definitely enjoyed doing something about it. Tom belonged to him now and Russell was going to make sure everyone knew it by putting a ring on him, as antiquated an attitude as that might be. At the very least, it would deter that sweet talker down at the diner from hitting on Tom anymore.

 

Feeling unnaturally hyped, Russell stuffed the box into the back pocket of his blue jeans and reentered the living room with the long stemmed rose pressed between his thumb and forefinger. He watched Tom’s eyes light up at the sight of the rose and grinned.

 

“This is for you,” Russell said as he offered Tom the rose, and then sat down beside him on the sofa.

 

“Thank you, Russ.” Tom brought the flower up to his nose to inhale the sweet perfume from its tightly wound petals, and then brushed his fingers over the petals themselves, admiring the rose for its natural beauty.

 

Out of all the people that Russell had dated in the past, Tom was the only one who was so easily swayed by pretty flowers. And out of all the flowers that Russell had given Tom since they’d started dating, the traditional red rose was the one that he appreciated the most. So Russell wasn’t the only romantic one in their relationship.

 

“But you didn’t spend ten minutes in the kitchen looking for this, so what were you doing?” Tom lowered the rose and curiously looked Russell over, obviously searching for another surprise gift.

 

“You’re so cute when you take your profession home with you,” Russell murmured, reaching over to begin caressing the side of Tom’s face. “If your sleuthing skills are so amazing, why don’t you tell me what I was doing?”

 

“I’d rather be surprised,” Tom said softly, leaning into Russell’s touch.

 

Those intense blue eyes and that seductive smile were enough to completely throw Russell off balance. If he didn’t get the words out soon, he might lose the nerve in favor of making love to Tom right in the middle of the living room floor, the dinner be damned. “You’re so damn beautiful, Tom Underlay,” he breathed, afraid that if he moved Tom would escape. When Tom’s cheeks and nose darkened with color, Russell crawled on top of him, kissing him intimately with the slow stroke of his tongue inside that hot, sweet mouth. He listened to Tom moan, plucking the rose out of his grasp to lay it down on the coffee table. Then he reached into his back pocket, opened the jewelry box one-handedly, while still kissing Tom, and pulled out the ring. Pouring all his courage into his heart, he ended the kiss and drew back a little to display the ring for Tom. “Tom, how would you feel about becoming a Varon?”

 

Tom’s reaction was not what Russell had been expecting. He had been looking forward to an emphatic _yes_ , or a playful grin, followed by that one word that Russell needed to hear. So when Tom’s blue eyes became shiny with tears and his expression completely overwhelmed with emotion, Russell had no idea how to take it. Was this a good reaction or a bad one? If Tom said _no_ , or asked for time to think it over… Maybe Russell should have proposed _after_ dinner. Because he didn’t think that he’d have much of an appetite for that special meal he’d slaved over if Tom rejected his proposal. Why the hell hadn’t he just stuck with the traditional phrase of, _Will you marry me?_ It seemed to work for everyone else.

 

Russell gazed down at Tom lying beneath him, itching to kiss his tears away, but restraining himself because touching the hybrid now would put undo pressure on him. Instead, he focused on the ring that Kira had helped him choose, and that he would be paying for in installments over the next three months. They’d looked at many different rings at the only two jewelry shops in Homestead. There hadn’t been much of a selection for men in the engagement ring section, but Russell had eventually settled on a 14k white gold, doubled banded vise ring with a ruby and white diamond in the center. Tom liked red roses, so why wouldn’t he also like rubies? At least that’s what he had been thinking at the time.

 

“Russ…?”

 

Still, Tom had not said yes. Holding in his extreme disappointment, and other negative emotions, Russell returned his attention to Tom’s face, preparing himself for a polite rejection. That’s when he noticed that Tom was holding up his left hand and eyeing the ring with immeasurable elation. The hybrid hadn’t said _yes_ because he was too choked up to get the words out.

 

Not giving Tom a second longer to change his mind, Russell took hold of his hand and slid the ring onto his fourth finger. It was a perfect fit, just like Tom fit perfectly in his arms, and in his life. Russell embraced Tom to feel him trembling, and then began to rub his hands up and down that slender body to calm his new fiancé. “You okay?” He asked as he rubbed his bearded cheek against Tom’s smooth one.

 

“Better than okay,” Tom replied in a tear-choked voice, grabbing onto Russell fiercely and refusing to let go. “I never thought that you would want to…”

 

“Want to what? Keep you?” Russell kissed the wet tears on Tom’s cheek and hugged him tighter. “I’m like a fisherman, you know that, Tom. After I’ve caught the best fish in the sea, why the hell would I throw it back in?”

 

“Russ, you’re an idiot,” Tom laughed emotionally. “Is that what I am to you? A fish?”

 

“I’ve never seen a fish as good looking as you before, so I really can’t say.”

 

“What did I do to deserve someone like you?” Tom mused to himself, still shaken by Russell’s completely unexpected proposal.

 

“I promised that I would take care of you,” Russell reminded him. “Just like you took care of me. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll always be on your side.” He moved closer to Tom’s ear to whisper in it. “I’ll protect you from anyone who would try to hurt you.”

 

“Wh—what do you mean?” Tom asked in alarm, sensing the conviction in Russell’s words. He was smart enough to realize that Russell wasn’t making some random love-inspired vow.

 

“Just saying,” Russell said flippantly, downplaying the seriousness of his words as he kissed Tom once more, before getting up to check on dinner. “You can go on up and change now. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”

 

“Russ?”

 

“I love you, Tom,” Russell said sweetly, keeping his tone gentle and unaffected. Hoping that Tom would just let it go.

 

“I love _you_ , Russ,” Tom echoed with a lot more emotion, luckily distracted by the engagement ring on his finger.

 

Leaving Tom to collect his emotions and change into something more comfortable, Russell returned to the kitchen to check on the progress of their dinner. From that first night they’d spent together, he’d known that he wanted to marry Tom and spend the rest of his life with him. Whenever they were alone, Tom allowed Russell to see a side of himself that he shared with no one else. A vulnerable and sensitive side that he hid whenever he left the house, and that helped him to release his inhibitions in the bedroom. Russell had wanted to nurture the part of Tom that the hybrid was afraid of revealing, to give him the love and happiness that he deserved. Those were the thoughts and feelings that he’d embraced close to his heart when he’d chosen that ring for Tom several weeks ago. But recently, he had felt it necessary to make their engagement about more than love and dedication. He had decided to turn it into a clear and decisive statement.

 

The oven temperature seemed to be a bit high so Russell lowered it and reached into his pocket to pull out the piece of photocopied paper that he had crumpled violently in his fist earlier that morning. He opened it up to reread it for the sixth time, clenching his teeth as he did so.

 

_Russell Varon,_

_You are harboring what may be the leader of the hybrid revolution in your home. The time has come for you to choose a side._

_Either you remove Tom Underlay from your life voluntarily, or we will take him from you by force. You will not be harmed if you choose the former._

_We will come to you by 10:00pm February 14 th to collect your favorable response, and the hybrid._

_Signed,_

_Neighborhood Watch_

What kind of bullshit was _Neighborhood Watch_? If there had truly been such a system in place, maybe there would be less burglaries, muggings, and assaults in broad daylight. And maybe for once Tom would be able to come home on time instead of being sent from one end of town to the other, documenting crimes and chasing after criminals both human and hybrid alike.

 

And couldn’t they have picked a day other than Valentine’s Day to intrude on his privacy? It was like they had intentionally made it on the most romantic day of the year to screw with Russell’s love life. But there was no way he could ask them to change the day, or tell them to go fuck themselves because they hadn’t had the guts to leave any contact information. He had no idea how many _guests_ he was expecting after dinner, but he was going to give them the same answer whether there were 5 of them, or 50. They were not getting Tom, either _voluntarily_ or _by force_. Before Tom had accepted his marriage proposal, their relationship hadn’t had much legal standing. But now that Tom was engaged to him, Russell had a heck of a lot more leeway in the lethal force he could use to protect him. And if it came down to it, he would do whatever was necessary in order to keep Tom safe from harm.

 

It disgusted Russell to know that these monsters wanted to hurt a man who had dedicated his life to protecting the citizens of Homestead. Russell knew Tom intimately enough to know that the hybrid posed absolutely no threat to the regular humans of their town. Tom showed nothing but kindness and tolerance to the very people who would try to have him tortured and lynched. But maybe Tom wasn’t aware of just how bad things had gotten over the past few weeks. And Russell hadn’t shown Tom the threatening letter because he had wanted to deal with things in his own way. It terrified him to think of what Tom would have done if he’d discovered the letter in the mailbox first. Of course the hybrid would have dutifully gone door-to-door, canvassing for information on who the responsible parties were. And behind one of those doors, an ambush would have been waiting for him. Russell doubted that Tom had ever witnessed the kind of violence that a hateful mob was capable of. And he would be damned if he ever allowed his beloved hybrid to fall prey to such a group of despicable lowlifes.

 

But threats or no threats, Russell was going to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Tom in a peaceful and loving atmosphere. There was no way his hateful neighbors were going to ruin his romantic plans for the night.

  

* * *

 

When Tom came back down the stairs dressed in a loose pair of slacks and a light blue cotton sweater, he was surprised to find Russell nowhere in sight. He was probably still in the kitchen, tending to whatever masterpiece he had going on in the oven. Tom could only assume because he couldn’t actually see into the kitchen, and he knew that if he went anywhere near it there would be hell to pay. The kitchen used to be visible from the front entranceway, until Russell had paid a couple of contractors to close it off and connect it to the living/dining room instead. But Tom didn’t need to see into the kitchen to know that whatever was in that oven sure smelled heavenly.

 

Tom quietly put on his shoes and went outside to collect Russell’s present from the passenger’s seat of his car. He had left the windows on both sides of the car open a few inches to allow the air to circulate properly on the inside. It was only 15 degrees outside, but the sun was still out, which made the inside of the car much hotter than the outside.

 

When Tom reached for the car door, the sunlight glinted off of the new engagement ring on his finger, making the diamond and ruby shine even brighter than they had indoors. Pausing for a moment, he rubbed his index finger over the ring, marveling at how stylish it looked. His old wedding band had been much simpler, just a standard ring of platinum – nothing fancy. But the ring he was wearing now had obviously been designed to attract attention. He still couldn’t believe that his indefinite living arrangement with Russell was turning into a lifetime of love and devotion. Russell truly loved him. And Tom loved Russell just as much. He couldn’t imagine returning to the lonely and depressing existence that he had led before Russell had taken him into his life. He would wear Russell’s ring proudly, anticipating the day that they would actually get married, and in what fashion.

 

Being very careful, Tom unlocked and opened the passenger’s side door, and reached down to scoop up a small black and brown German Shepherd puppy into his arms. The puppy had been sleeping soundly in the warm afternoon sunshine but jerked awake as soon as he felt himself being lifted up off of the seat. The next thing Tom knew, he was being attacked by the overexcited puppy, his face the target of a wet, flapping tongue, and his sweater being stretched out of shape by the claws that clung to it. “Please stay still,” Tom pleaded, having no experience with animals and not knowing if he should put the puppy down or hug him tighter to stop his squirming. But he was afraid that if he put the puppy down, he would run off, and then Russell wouldn’t have a Valentine’s Day present at all. “Shhh,” he hissed when the puppy began to whine, pawing at Tom’s chin and licking at his neck. That did it! If he didn’t offload this puppy immediately, he was going to either burst out laughing – because the puppy’s tongue was tickling his neck – or accidentally drop him.

 

Holding the puppy securely with one arm, Tom picked up the shopping bags that contained the bare essentials for owning a dog from the floor of the car, and rushed back inside.

 

“Tom, dinner’s ready!” Russell hollered from the bottom of the stairs, until he heard the front door open, and turned to give Tom and the puppy a bewildered look.

 

And in turn, Tom and the puppy stared at Russell. The apron that Russell was wearing over his short sleeved khaki button-down shirt and blue jeans seemed incongruous with his rugged good looks and his bare muscular arms. He just seemed like the type who would be more comfortable at a sports game than cooped up in the kitchen all day. But Tom really couldn’t care less what Russell wore, or didn’t wear, just the sight of him made his heart rate increase dramatically. Although he was curious to ask what the small green flecks were in Russell’s short dark hair. While cooking, although Russell kept his clothes relatively clean, he had the tendency to get things in his hair or drop things onto the floor. Tom was always cleaning up after him, or picking things out of his hair.

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Russ,” Tom said enthusiastically as he held out the puppy for Russell to take. Only, the puppy didn’t want to go to Russell. No, he seemed content to cling onto Tom’s sweater and lick his neck and face affectionately while giving Russell a wary sideways glance. Tom tried again to pull the puppy off of his sweater, but those claws were like glue. The only way that puppy was letting go was if half his sweater went with him.

 

Russell started to laugh, taking the bags from Tom but leaving him with the puppy. “Thanks for the thought.”

 

“But you said that you wanted a dog to go camping with,” Tom protested, upset that Russell seemed to have no interest in the puppy that he’d selected from the Homestead Animal Shelter. He had intentionally gone to the shelter, instead of the high profile pet shop, because Russell was always going on about how many animals got displaced during and after a hurricane. The puppy that he’d chosen had been the least popular sibling out of a litter of five that had been abandoned down by the highway a couple of nights ago. But for some reason, Tom had found this particular puppy to be the most endearing. Hiding away in a corner of the pen while the other puppies frolicked around energetically up front. “The lady down at the shelter was quite knowledgeable on dog breeds. She said that this one likes to be outdoors.”

 

“I’m sure he does. But he seems to have taken a liking to you. And you and that puppy look adorable together,” Russell said with a fond smile. “I’ll try to pet him again when he’s a little less nervous. In the meantime, try to put him down somewhere so that we can eat our dinner. And see if you can do that without ruining that new sweater our kids bought you.”

 

“I’m trying… Oh, and Russ?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You have something in your hair. Something green.”

 

“Oh. Thanks.” Russell shook the green particles out of his hair, perhaps some sort of chopped up plant, before disappearing back into the kitchen.

 

If Tom hadn’t been so hopelessly in love with Russell, he might have questioned the safety of his food after witnessing that slightly unhygienic behavior.

 

The puppy began to show his jealousy at the amount of attention Tom was giving Russell by licking vigorously at his neck again, demanding that that attention be put back on him. Perhaps Tom shouldn’t have spent so much time playing with the puppy down at the shelter in the first place. But the lady in charge of the dogs had been insistent that he check the puppy’s temperament to see if he would be a good match for Tom and Russell. Unfortunately, Russell hadn’t been present for that particular matchmaking activity, so Tom had gone with his own instincts. He had just naturally assumed that if the puppy was so friendly and playful in his presence, he would take to Russell just as quickly.

 

“Stop over-thinking it,” Russell scolded from the kitchen, as if he had been listening in on Tom’s thoughts. “Dogs get nervous, just like humans. He’s familiar with you, so he’s going to want to be around you for a while before he’ll let me get close. He’s a nice looking puppy, Tom. And he’ll grow into a really handsome dog before you know it.”

 

Tom knelt down on the dining room floor with the puppy and began the slow and careful process of disentangling him from his sweater, one claw at a time. When he looked down, he noticed that the puppy was gazing up at him with his big brown eyes, regarding him with obvious delight. They were kind eyes, much like Russell’s, and maybe that’s what had drawn Tom to this intriguing little creature. Tom heard Russell come up behind him to begin laying out the dinner on the dining table when he’d nearly freed himself. “Something smells delicious,” he commented, reminded of just how hungry he actually was. And trying not to think about how soft and furry the puppy was, or how therapeutic petting him felt, because then he would never put the puppy down.

 

“Still?” Russell teased when he noticed that Tom was having trouble separating himself from the puppy, who was now wagging his tail excitedly at the smell of food.

 

“Almost…”

 

“Good luck when he’s full grown and you can’t handle him anymore,” Russell chuckled on his second pass into the kitchen.

 

“How big is he going to get?” Tom hadn’t thought to ask the lady at the shelter for measurements. German Shepherds weren’t very common in Homestead, especially since toy poodles and miniature dachshunds were now all the rage with the younger kids. They were easier to look after than full sized dogs. Tom knew a few different dog types by sight. He just didn’t know what any of them were called.

 

“Big enough to knock you over.” When Tom looked at Russell pointedly, wanting specific measurements and not abstract estimates, Russell informed him that their cute fluffy puppy was going to look a lot different when he got older. “You know those police dogs they have in the big cities like New York and Baltimore?”

 

“That big?” Tom asked in surprise.

 

“That’s the _same_ dog,” Russell laughed at Tom’s inability to imagine the small puppy that he held in his arms filling out into a fierce beast of hunting proportions. “He could weigh as much as 40 kilos within a year, which is about all it would take to knock over a full grown man. And then he’ll be eating us out of house and home. Not that I mind because I grew up around dogs. It’ll be nice to have a loyal guard dog around the house.”

 

“I brought home a cute puppy, not a vicious guard dog,” Tom insisted. He was very much against training animals to be violent, especially after that incident down at the Campbell’s residence involving a giant pit bull and the ex-boyfriend. Thank God he hadn’t been the unlucky one to respond to _that_ nightmare of a situation.

 

“A dog doesn’t have to be vicious to be loyal and to guard his owner,” Russell said calmly as he reached down to stroke Tom’s hair, earning an uneasy yelp from the puppy and then a paw batting his hand away. “See? He thinks he owns you.”

 

“This puppy was supposed to be for you,” Tom sighed, petting the puppy’s soft fur once more before getting up to wash his hands for dinner.

 

“You’re wearing my ring,” Russell reminded Tom. “I couldn’t be any happier. So it doesn’t matter who gets the puppy.”

 

* * *

 

While Tom was in the washroom freshening up for dinner, Russell eyed the puppy rolling around on the dining room floor. He had never seen Tom around animals before, but the hybrid seemed to have formed a natural bond with the puppy already, which made Russell happy. Sure, he had wanted a dog to go camping with, but he could wait a while to train the puppy to enjoy the forest and maybe take him tracking in the future. He needed to train Tom to enjoy camping first, and that would probably take a lot more patience and creativity than dealing with a puppy.

 

Russell emptied the paper bags out onto the royal blue carpeting, noticing that the puppy was now watching him keenly with those big brown eyes. From what he could tell so far, the puppy seemed to be quiet and good-natured, making him a perfect match for Tom. Although Russell never voiced his concerns out loud, he had noticed that the hybrid now had literally no friends or acquaintances to hang out with. Most people had stopped being Tom’s friend when they’d learned of his hybrid heritage. The rest were afraid of associating with someone who was often the target of discriminatory bullying. Tom needed this puppy for companionship a lot more than Russell did.

 

“Let’s see what we have,” Russell muttered to himself, going through the puppy products.

 

 _Puppy food. Puppy treats. Water bowl. Food dish. Collar and leash…_ Russell made a quick inventory of everything that Tom had bought, making sure that nothing had been left out. Nothing seemed to be missing, so Russell took the water bowl into the kitchen to fill it with filtered tap water, and returned to the living room to place it near the puppy. He opened the bag of puppy food next and shook out a good portion into the food dish. And waited.

 

Suddenly the puppy didn’t seem to mind Russell’s presence at all. He bounded over to the food dish, right by Russell’s foot, and – in his excitement – ended up flopping face first into it, crunching away at what the package identified as _chicken flavor_ puppy chow.

 

“He’s hungry again?” Tom asked as he came back into the dining room. “He just ate an hour ago.”

 

“You’d be surprised at how much a puppy can eat. How about we let the puppy eat his dinner so that we can eat our own?” Russell went over to the light switch to dim the lights, revealing the candlelit dinner that he had tastefully set up for their romantic date.

 

“Russ… everything looks amazing,” Tom praised emphatically as he sat down across from Russell, looking slightly overwhelmed by the lengths his fiancé had gone to to impress him. There was a roasted piece of fowl in the center of his plate, surrounded by a mysterious reddish-pink sauce and mashed potatoes dotted with some sort of green herb. Next to that was a bowl of green salad that was topped with diced vegetables, sliced oranges, and almond slivers. And on the other side of the plate was a rich looking creamy soup with some sort of seafood floating in it.

 

Russell grinned and tried to sound modest as he pointed out what everything was. But he’d been watching many Youtube videos and had visited many foodie blogs over the past few weeks, studying hard so that he wouldn’t screw anything up, so he ended up bragging a bit more than he intended to. “I got organic free range duck from the market and marinated it for a couple of hours before roasting it in the oven. And the plum sauce is homemade. I also added freshly chopped basil to the mashed potatoes, because it’s your favorite herb. The salad is… basically a salad. But the soup really took the longest to make. I had to steam the lobster first before making the bisque. Oh, and this Pinot Noir should go well with the duck.” Russell had already popped the cork, so he just poured the red wine into Tom’s wine glass and passed it to him, before filling his own glass next.

 

“Thank you very much for going to all this trouble, Russ. And for the proposal…” Sounding a bit too emotional to continue, Tom merely held up his wine glass and waited for Russell to do the same.

 

“You’re well worth the fight I got into with that lobster,” Russell said just as emotionally, trying to cover it up with his usual humor. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Tom repeated, clinking his glass to Russell’s. After sipping at the wine, he cut into the duck and dragged a piece through the plum sauce, feeling a bit nervous knowing that Russell was watching him expectantly. “Russ, this is a hundred times better than that restaurant you treated me to last month,” Tom exclaimed as he savored another bite of the plum-soaked duck.

 

“Honey, I’ll take that as a compliment to my cooking and not as an insult to our last night out together,” Russell said proudly, smirking when Tom looked embarrassed over the way he had phrased the compliment. Letting Tom continue eating unharassed, Russell sampled his own culinary cuisine, feeling pretty damn smug at how well it had turned out. The salad was good, but nothing truly remarkable, except for the combination of colors Russell had played with. But the lobster bisque was divine, and Russell knew that Tom agreed with him when the hybrid nearly licked the bowl clean to get at the last drops of it.

 

After finishing his dinner, Russell retrieved the chocolate cake he had baked and put together earlier that morning, smiling when Tom just looked at him as if he were some sort of culinary god.

 

“You made a cake, too? I think that you’re working in the wrong field.”

 

“This is a once-a-year thing, so don’t get too used to it. And you can learn how to do anything on Youtube.”

 

“I don’t doubt it.”

 

Russell poured out two cups of coffee in the kitchen and carried them back into the living room, glancing at the small mountain of puppy goods in the corner of the room… but not seeing any puppy. “Tom, where did the puppy go?” When he looked over at Tom, he saw how guilty the hybrid looked, and realized that there would be no need to search for a lost puppy.

 

“He was chewing on my sock,” Tom explained by way of excuse, trying to hold the puppy still on his lap.

 

“Just make sure he doesn’t end up in your cake or knocking over the coffee,” Russell warned, knowing that Tom wasn’t aware of just how much mischief one small little puppy was capable of getting into. “And he’s going to need a name. We can’t keep calling him _the puppy_.”

 

“What do you want to name him?”

 

“I think that you should choose his name. You’re the one he’s attached to.” Before Tom could start brainstorming puppy names, Russell quickly added, “And don’t forget that he’s going to be stuck with that name for life. So try not to pick something that wouldn’t be suitable for an adult dog, or that we’re going to feel too embarrassed to shout out in public.”

 

“So… no _Cocoa_ then?”

 

“Please don’t name your puppy after chocolate,” Russell groaned.

 

“Russ, I honestly have no idea. You name him.”

 

“How about Mocha?”

 

“You want to name him after coffee?” Tom raised his eyebrows at Russell, his hand falling still on top of the puppy’s soft head. “How is _Mocha_ any different from _Cocoa._ ”

 

“Did you see that?”

 

“See what?”

 

“His ears went up when he heard you say Mocha.”

 

“They did not.” But Tom humored Russell anyway by repeating the coffee drink to the puppy. “Mocha,” he said with no inflection, startled when the puppy’s ears pricked up and those big brown eyes met his gaze evenly. “I think that he just chose his name.”

 

“The kids are going to love him,” Russell said as he reached over to stroke the calm puppy in Tom’s lap. But as soon as he tried to kiss Tom, the puppy started marching up and down Tom’s thigh, barking in warning. Russell laughed and kissed Tom anyway, not minding the little tug of puppy claws that he felt on the hand that he covered Tom’s with.

 

* * *

 

Later on that night, Russell was lying in bed with Tom in his arms, kissing him gently after a very romantic hour of lovemaking. Outside their closed bedroom door, they could hear whining and scratching, followed by short barks. “Mocha misses you,” Russell teased, stroking his hand down Tom’s bare side to rest it on his hip. Tom was very warm against him, his brow slightly sweaty from their quite intense _workout_. Which didn’t stop Russell from tenderly kissing his forehead and nuzzling him with his scruffy cheek.

 

“I’ll miss him more later,” Tom said lightly as he leaned into another kiss, wrapping his arms around Russell’s neck and shifting closer under the sheets. “Already?” He asked with an amused grin when Russell ground up against his thigh.

 

“It must be all that chocolate cake,” Russell said with a smug smirk. “I only need another five minutes. How about you?” He slid both his hands down Tom’s back to rest intimately over his nicely toned ass and then just squeezed him.

 

“Five minutes sounds good,” Tom agreed, nudging his knee teasingly against Russell’s erection while kissing up his fiancé’s neck and beginning to lick at his ear.

 

“Damn it, Tom. What are you, a cat?” Russell groaned, gripping Tom tighter when the hybrid licked back down to his collarbone and then kissed across it. But as much as he wanted to joke about it, feeling Tom’s tongue lightly brushing over his skin worked quite well in getting him rigidly hard in record time. And when Tom began to suck on the juncture of his neck and shoulder, Russell bucked up into the hand that was waiting to stroke him. “Tom, I need you, _now_ ,” he pleaded, rolling onto his back and pulling Tom on top so that he was astride him.

 

“Russ, what are you doing?” Tom asked, sounding and looking nervous.

 

“Trying a new position.” Russell had been keeping things pretty much routine with Tom for a while now, giving him time to grow accustomed to what they did in bed. Because Tom hadn’t had any other men before Russell and was still getting over a few awkward pauses during the actual act. But tonight Russell figured that Tom might be up for something a little different. “Are you okay with that?”

 

“I guess so…” For a second Tom didn’t look so eager to experiment. It took longer for him to adjust to new things, especially when he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

 

“Lean forward,” Russell instructed, reaching down to stroke his fingers over Tom’s still slick entrance, and then pushed two inside of him to ensure that he was still relaxed and loose. The sound Tom made reassured Russell that his fiancé was more than ready to go again. He absently wondered if all hybrids were this sensual and energetic or if it was just Tom. But outside the door, Mocha didn’t seem to understand the difference between a moan of pain and a moan of arousal because he started to bark again. “Tom, I need to _fuck_ you,” Russell urged, ignoring the puppy. “Sit back.”

 

Tom did as he was told, feeling Russell slip into him, and moaned even louder. Because at this angle he felt a lot more sensitive, and Russell seemed to be penetrating him much deeper than he had before. When Russell’s fingers went to his nipples, pinching him and rubbing him, Tom arched his back and ground down onto him, knowing what Russell liked. “Russell… _yes…_ ,” Tom moaned, closing his eyes and just enjoying the sensation of Russell sinking into him as deep as he could go.

 

Not satisfied with Tom just sitting there, Russell took hold of the hybrid’s hips and lifted him off, and then thrust back up into him, wringing a delighted cry out of him. “That’s it… _ride me_ , Tom,” he ground out when Tom got the idea and pushed down to meet Russell’s thrusting hips, before lifting off again, following the rhythm that he had been given. “You’re so sexy like this, Tom,” he praised, running his hands over the taut muscles of the hybrid’s ass.

 

“Feels so _good_ ,” Tom gasped, trying to take Russell deeper with each thrust. “Russ… you feel so good,” he clarified, leaning down to kiss Russell on the mouth while bearing down onto him much harder.

 

Russell dug his fingers into Tom’s hips and grunted, nearly losing it when the hybrid tightened around him. Tom’s heat was incredibly inviting, luring Russell into it deeper and faster, withdrawing only to thrust back into it with abandon. “You’re so hot,” Russell moaned, pulling Tom down onto him one last time, the sweet friction finally bringing him to a swift and extremely pleasurable release. When Tom moaned and flopped bonelessly onto his chest, panting with his eyes closed, Russell knew that he was finished, too. “No more?” Russell whispered into Tom’s ear, running his fingers through the hybrid’s wavy, sweat-soaked hair.

 

“You can’t… be serious…,” Tom breathed in exhaustion, opening his blue eyes a fraction to look at Russell as if he were a perverse sex maniac.

 

“I’m not,” he said mildly, smiling at Tom in amusement. “But I wish I were.” He wrapped his arms around Tom and languorously kissed him, feeling himself slip from the hybrid, leaving him quite wet inside. Content to just hold onto Tom all night, Russell began to trace his fingers down his fiancé’s warm, smooth back. “You smell good,” he sighed between kisses. “And you taste even better.”

 

Not knowing what to say to Russell’s flattery, Tom merely kissed him back and murmured, “I love you, Russ.”

 

“And I love you, honey,” Russell said affectionately. “And that’s why we’re getting married this spring.”

 

“Oh?” Tom asked, sounding a bit more alert as he repositioned himself next to Russell and sought out the pillow for his head. “You’ve already picked a date?”

 

“Not a specific date, but sometime before the summer starts because nobody wants to have a wedding in the middle of a hurricane.”

 

“We’re going to have a wedding?”

 

Russell met Tom’s insecure gaze with his own steady one and went back to stroking the hybrid’s hair. “Don’t you want to have one?”

 

“I’d never really thought about it until the now. I just don’t think that the general public would be very willing to embrace two men getting married in Homestead. Especially because I’m a--.”

 

Russell pressed his fingers to Tom’s lips before he could finish his sentence. “You’re the man that I love,” he said firmly. “And that’s all that matters. Same-sex marriages are now legal in Florida, and I’ve already discussed it with my new supervisor. We can have the ceremony inside the Glades. Just something small with a few friends and the kids. No large crowds and nothing fancy. Do you think you can handle that?”

 

“So long as nobody finds out about it…”

 

Tom looked genuinely worried about the possibility of someone finding out about their plans to get married and crashing the wedding. Perhaps he knew more about the animosity directed towards him in town than he was letting on. That saddened Russell, to know that Tom thought that he was less deserving of happiness because of who and what he was. And because he hated to think of Tom enduring the bigotry in silence, on his own. He was not alone, not anymore. But regardless of how terrible he felt about the situation, he would need to address it on another day because it was getting too close to 10pm.

 

“We’ll discuss it later. I forgot something in my jeep. I’m going to go down and get it. Why don’t you take a shower so I can get these sheets off the bed?”

 

Mocha answered in Tom’s place, barking and knocking his small body against the door in the attempt to break it down. Russell picked up his car keys and pulled on his track shorts and a creased green t-shirt. He then opened the bedroom door, feeling a furry body bump firmly into his shins, before racing past him. Chasing after the puppy, Russell grabbed onto his squirming body and lifted him up, swearing when those not-so-blunt puppy teeth nipped at his fingers. He carried the puppy over to the master bedroom washroom and put him down onto the floor, and then pushed a flushed and naked Tom in after him.

 

“See if Mocha likes to swim,” he joked, shutting Tom and the puppy inside.

 

“No, don’t eat that,” Tom scolded in exasperation from behind the door, followed by, “Come back here.”

 

That would keep Tom occupied for a while, giving Russell plenty of time to take his shotgun out of the front closet and cautiously go outside to wait for the group of sickos who were threatening his fiancé’s life.


End file.
